


Welcome Home

by creaniall



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Charles comes out as nonbinary, Charles uses they/them pronouns, Erik is a supportive boyfriend, Fluff, M/M, Nonbinary Charles, Post DP, they finally get their happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 14:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21017354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creaniall/pseuds/creaniall
Summary: After the events of Dark Phoenix Erik takes Charles with him to Genosha so they can make themselves a new home.





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> There is not enough nonbinary Charles in this fandom and I´m determined to change that!

Arriving at Genosha didn´t feel like coming home at first. They got off the boat, Erik helping Charles with their wheelchair, and followed a paved road for roughly half an hour. The climate was warm, almost tropical, and within minutes Charles´ clothes were drenched in sweat. 

Erik lead the way with the energy of a man way younger than he was. To say he hadn´t aged at all would be false. His red beard and hair were starting to turn gray and there were so many wrinkles around his eyes that Charles hadn´t grown accustomed to them yet. However, the look suited Erik and Charles caught themselves looking at his narrow waist and broad shoulders way too often. 

The paved path ended abruptly. Without missing a beat Erik waved his hands and Charles felt how their wheelchair was lifted just a few inches. Hovering around the ground they kept up with Erik´s pace. The ground was muddy from the rain and brown sludge soon covered his shoes and lower legs. 

“Your village is not exactly wheelchair-friendly,” Charles joked to cover up their nervousness. Inviting Erik to their own home back then had felt natural and Charles hadn´t had to think twice about it. But being invited to someone else´s home felt so meaningful that they wondered if that was how Erik had felt back then. 

“We will pave the main roads next spring so we can bring some heavier materials to the island,” Erik explained without turning around. He sounded out of breath even though he didn´t slow down for one second. “You will have to rely on me for help until then.”

There was no hostility or schadenfreude in his voice. He was simply stating facts without giving them any connotation. Charles leaned back in their wheelchair and took a moment to admire the rich vegetable gardens the mutants had cultivated. They could hear sheep somewhere out of line of their sight. 

A few mutants covered in mud and soil looked up when they walked by. Some nodded, others greeted Erik with a smile. He always waved back, obviously knowing everyone here by name. Barely anyone acknowledged Charles, even though some of the mutants had been their students once. 

The situation was weird. Charles was so used to being a mutant celebrity that being reduced of that status made them feel vulnerable. They were the new one and had no rank among the tribe, yet. 

“Don´t worry. You will get to know everyone soon,” Erik said. 

The two of them had made their way to the largest of the barracks. A considerable amount of mutants even seemed to sleep in tents, others had built small houses out of what Charles considered trash. Erik´s accommodation seemed to be no exception. 

When they entered Erik let their wheelchair down. With a thump the wheels hit the floor made from wooden planks. It took Charles´ eyes a few seconds to get used to the dim lights. The smell of burned wood and old oil was overwhelming. 

But once they managed to take in the picture of Erik´s home Charles felt their heart growing heavy from pure affection. The place was shabby but comfy. And suddenly the realization hit them that Erik had built this all by himself. 

Erik, his beautiful, strong Erik had made this place his home. After the Nazis had killed his people, after Shaw had tortured him into submission, after the US government had him incarcerated in an underground prison for almost a decade, after his wife and daughter had been killed, after all this Erik had decided to once again find himself a new home. 

This place was Erik´s in any way possible. It was the result of five decades of pain and loss and it was still so peaceful and comfy. This was probably how Erik´s soul must look like if it was a real place: a little rugged, a little messy but comfy. Full of hope and love.

Charles had tears in their eyes when they looked up to meet Erik´s eyes watching him full of expectation. All that love that had once existed between them on the dirty roads leading them to meet the first students of X-Manor suddenly filled the air. 

Charles remembered how it had felt to fall in love for the first time as a teenager. They had known it the second they pulled Erik out of the water, watching him shiver as he refused to change into dry clothes in front of Charles. They had only caught a glimpse of Erik´s mind by then but for once in their lifetime Erik´s thoughts were unimportant to Charles. 

“It´s beautiful,” Charles whispered and their sight blurred while they were blinking away the tears. 

One moment Erik was standing about two steps away in the middle of the room, the next his lips were on Charles. Their kiss was long and passionate just like their very first almost 30 years ago. They were different people now but somehow still the same. 

A surprised noise escaped Charles´ lips. Erik was about to back off but Charles grabbed his neck and desperately pulled him closer again. Their whole faces almost collided before their lips found each other again for a second, messy kiss. 

They hadn´t kissed in years, at least not like that. Before the Cuba incident kissing was normal for them. Their last kiss had been shared before they entered the jet to hunt for Shaw.  
Ten years later, after Charles had freed Erik from prison, there had been hunger for each other. They hadn´t really kissed during the single incident at the plane while Logan was asleep. It had been a short, hard fuck to relieve tension and nothing more. 

Another ten years later when they parted as friends after defeating Apocalypse Erik had kissed Charles´ cheek. Kissing may not have been the appropriate term, it was more a slow brush of his lips against their cheek, but Charles was desperate to believe it was meant as a kiss. 

But right now they kissed as if they hadn´t been apart for 30 years. This was real, it happened and the memory would stay with Charles forever. 

If it hadn´t been to their self control, Charles might have sobbed in relief. Erik must have noticed something because the next moments all the mental barriers he used to protect himself from Charles crumbled down. Charles gasped into the kiss when they entered Erik´s mind. For the first time Erik was laying completely bare in front of them, giving them access to the deepest and darkest corners of his mind. 

Erik´s mind was a work of art. Charles would never be able to get over his incredibly efficient and unique thought processes, his stoic self control and the way his mind solved problems within split-seconds. 

“Thank you,” Charles managed to project into Erik´s mind. The edges of where his own self ended and Erik´s started were already blurring. It was a pleasant feeling to completely wrap themselves into Erik´s open, welcoming mind. Memories, emotions and impressions flooded their own mind until they were inseparable tangled with their own. 

Charles was still riding the high of being connected to Erik´s mind while the other mutant managed to push the wheelchair back to the bed. The sturdy wooden frame felt and smelled new and Charles´ stomach felt warm at the thought of Erik making a real bed for them so Charles didn´t have to sleep on the floor like the rest of the villagers. 

Strong arms wrapped around their upper body. Charles squeaked as they were being lifted from the wheelchair onto the bed. As they made themselves comfortable Erik laid down next to them so they faced each other. 

“I´m so happy for you,” Charles whispered and felt a rush of affection. It took them a second to realize it was a feeling they got from Erik and not their own. “That you were able to make peace with your past.”

“I´m happy you are here,” he responded. His voice sounded impossibly deeper than usual, sending a rush of heat down Charles´ spine. 

Their bodies didn´t touch but through their minds they were still connected. Charles was tempted to close their eyes and just explore Erik´s mind for a while but apparently Erik had other plans for the day. 

He reached out with his hand, reluctantly at first, and placed his big, strong hands under Charles´ dress shirt on their stomach. They both shuddered under the gentle touch. Erik moved closer until their legs touched – not that Charles could feel that themselves but they could feel it through Erik which was almost as good. 

The buttons of the dress shirt were opened one after another. Erik pulled off the dress shirt and started making his way from their stomach towards the chest. Charles squirmed, suddenly remembering something but their resistance was only half-hearted, already being crushed by arousal. 

Erik´s long, calloused fingers had found the lace of the bralette Charles was wearing underneath. He traced the edges for a few seconds before he looked up to meet Charles´ eyes. 

“Are you wearing a bra?” he asked nonchalantly. 

After three decades of knowing each other Charles didn´t actually fear that Erik would reject them. But the sudden panic still made their insides grow cold. 

“It´s a bralette,” they answered, watching Erik through half closed lids. 

“Did I miss another questionable fashion trend?” the other mutant joked while tracing Charles´ nipples through the fabric. 

“You are not the only one who has changed, my friend.” 

Their eyes met for seconds that stretched into eternity. A memory bubbled to the surface of Erik´s mind, suppressed for so long that Erik thought he had completely forgotten about it. Charles could make out a stunningly beautiful woman in a long skirt in the camps Erik spent his youth at. Two men in uniforms were holding her down while another man shaved her head until it was bald. They ripped off her skirts, broke her nose so her face was painted with blood and then forced her to strip in front of everyone. 

With trembling arms the woman got rid of her clothes, revealing a flat chest and a hairless, undoubtedly male crotch. Without needing to see the actual memory Charles knew she didn´t make it long in the camps, despised by both the guards and her own people. 

Erik had been too young to understand the meaning back then but he had later learned that before the Nazis took over Germany used to be a safe haven for people born into the wrong body. And even later he had learned about the first sex-reassignment surgeries performed in Germany after the First World War. 

Charles swallowed when they felt all the love and reassurance in Erik´s mind. 

“It´s not like that,” they said into the silence of the room. “I´m not like that. I feel as if two souls are living inside of me right now, one male and one female. This is the best compromise I could find to satisfy them both.”

They gasped for air, having spoken so fast that they forgot to breath. Erik reassuringly patted their bald head. Feeling brave, Charles added quickly: “Also, I´d like you to use they and them as my pronouns, if that´s okay.”

For a horrifying second they expected Erik to ridicule them but much to their surprise the other mutant simply nodded. There was still nothing but love to be found in his mind. 

“Sounds like the right pronoun for two souls,” he simply said and kissed Charles´ forehead. There was a moment of content silence between them. 

“I´m still gonna take that off now.” The devilish grin had returned to Erik´s face, making Charles giggle. 

They let themselves be undressed by their lover. His touch was something Charles had longed for forever. The long fingers felt hot, gripping them tightly when they were being pulled closer. Charles pressed their face against Erik´s chest and let themselves drown in their joined heat and lust. 

When they finished making love the sun had already set. Darkness surrounded the simple barrack Erik called his home and the chirping of crickets could be heard outside. A single gas lamp illuminated the room. 

Charles´ head rested against Erik´s shoulder, they were both breathing heavily. Not being able to bounce back as easily, Charles was once again reminded that they were not a young guy anymore. Neither was Erik, though, and they still managed to go several rounds. 

Cool air brushed their heated skin. Charles wiggled around a little to grab the blanket at the lower end of the bed to cover their paralyzed legs. Erik sat up and helped so Charles used the opportunity to place their head comfortably on Erik´s stomach. In their memory Erik´s frame was lean, but strong, his body nothing but hard muscle and little fat. Now there was a little pudge around his stomach. Charles liked it more than they should have. 

“We wasted so much time,” they whispered against the warm skin of Erik´s stomach. “We could have had this 30 years ago if we wanted.”

“We were young and dumb and didn´t know any better.” Erik sounded sleepy, his fingers drawing small circles on Charles´ shoulders. 

Charles looked up to meet their lover´s eyes. 

“I love you, you know? I have from the very first time we kissed.”

Erik didn´t seem to know what to answer. His mind swirled in awe but he didn´t say anything. It did not matter. Charles could feel his love and affection and mirrored it. 

“You don´t have to say anything,” they reassured. “I can feel anything you feel right now.”

Maybe one day Erik could freely tell Charles about his feelings. Charles even had a feeling that day would come sooner rather than later but until then they had time. They had the rest of their lives. 

Their hands found each other underneath the blanket. Erik intertwined their fingers. 

“Welcome home, Charles.”

Charles smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> I´m not a native english speaker. Please let me know if you find any mistakes so I can learn.


End file.
